The Crucible
by bleububbletea
Summary: Rated T for cussing and suggestive themes. Four drunken friends take on the formidable crucible. What could possibly go wrong? Many things. FIVE PART STORY.
1. One

"Crucible, anyone?!" Boomed Nate from across the table. Everyone at the circular table looked up at the man who held a jug overflowing with liquor.

"Nate, really? Put the beer down." Scolded his counterpart, Kyrine. Her glowing white eyes annoyed. She had pale, blue and grey skin that had a faint ethereal glow. Nate looked down at her and spat out a laugh, his dark brown eyes sparkling.

"Nah, Ky, you need to loosen up! Have a beer! Or five!" His tan skin glistened with sweat from the packed and heated bar.

"Yeah, Rinie," Another voice slurred. The redhead from the other side of the table, Sean, leaned forward, bringing his mug down with him. Sean was tall, lean, and ginger. He had a mild tan from being out and about in the city when off duty. His shaggy hair was in need if a brush, and his face was dusted with light freckles.

He took another big gulp of beer, chugging noisily. There was a dainty scoff from beside him. Sarah had her nose scrunched up and her hazel eyes watched him. She shook her head, and her short choppy blonde hair shook.

"You can't go into the Crucible, your drunk." Her soft voice calmed the two ruffians down, her serene voice settling. Sarah was caring, and smart. Sean was the equivalent to an older, annoying brother for her.

Nate belched and slurred a laugh. "We've done it before! Hell, even Ky was with us!" Nate was an outgoing person, who hated drama, and loved beer. Kyrine was like his other half, his girl side. Even if she was another race, and blue haired.

Jo, who had her phone to her ear, an old model from the year 2015 that she didn't want to let go of, was shouting something in another language. Like Kyrine, her bangs went across her forehead. Her raven black hair laid on her shoulders, little longer then Sarah's. She had an olive complexion, and usually soft green eyes. Which, at the moment, blazed furiously.

"Sí, cabrón!" She shouted, her small hands gripped her glass of water. Kyrine raised a silvery eyebrow at her Hispanic friend.

Jo shut the phone off and sighed, sipped her water, then looked up at her friends, "Sorry guys, I gotta boogie. Stuffs happening." Without further explanation, she got up and left. Leaving five bucks to pay for her drink.

Sean laughed. "You in, Kyrine? Crucible? I'm sure all of our booze will exit our system by time we're in the ships." His eyelids were dropping, while Nate's were alive and ready. The girl in question rolled her flourecent eyes, and shook her head. Her blue bangs shifting across her forehead.

She took out a pony tail holder and swept her long hair up into a ponytail, then a tight bun and rolled her shoulders. "We're outfitted, I don't see why not." Her plump, pale pink lips smirked.

Nate slugged an arm around his counterpart and breathed in her ear. "Let us be off then!" He planted a sloppy kiss on her pale grey-blue cheek.

Kyrine remained with a stoic smirk as she took his arm and they exited the packed bar, the drunk man behind her.

Jo was a Warlock, Nate, formally known as Nathaniel, was a Titan with Sean, though the two almost repelled each other. Kyrine was a Hunter. There was only one person missing from their party, who had taken his girlfriend out for the night, which was Justin, who was a burly Titan.

Justin had brown hair, was tan, with a buzz-cut. He had honey-colored eyes and a strong jaw.

His girlfriend, Erin, who was a close friend of Kyrine's, was short and neither skinny nor chubby. She had bronze hair, tan skin, and dark eyes, with a pear shaped body. Eir, as Kyrine liked to call her, was a gossip queen and heard anything. While she wasn't a guardian, she worked along side the Cryptarch. She was naturally a bubbly person, who was dramatic and always found a way to annoy Nate.

Sean slammed his hands on the table. "Well! I better get going," He looked at Sarah who seemed deep in thought. "You comin', blondie?"

Sarah barely nodded. "Yeah, just need to get ready. You know this isn't going to end well, right? All of my statistics aren't adding up correctly." Her hazel eyes were worried.

"Ah, loosen up! Here, I'll meet you at the shipwright, alright? And I'll even leave the rest of my beer for ya!" He patted her head and stumbled out of the bar. leaving Sarah alone with Nate's unfinished beer bottle and Sean's near extinguished one.

She sighed, and picked u Nate's beer.

And downed it.

—

Kyrine lounged next to the Aurora Lance, with a metallic water bottle, with the Hunter insignia plastered on it, in hand. Nate was across from her in ship wright, next to his electric blue Phaeton Class V1, smirking while opening another beer.

"Where are the others I wonder..." Kyrine trailed off absent mindlessly, drumming her fingers on her dark ship. She shifted her black boot clad feet.

"I..." He looked thoughtful, "really don't care." He grinned and took a swig of his beer. Nate leaned across the wing of his ship while Kyrine was on the ground, swinging her helmet around on her fingers.

She bit her lip, her pearly whites pulling on it. "Maybe Sean is still wandering the streets."

"No! I'm right here, Mama!" He shouted from the other end of the shipwright. He called her that because she's the closest thing to a mother figure he has. He was stumbling, bumping into ship parts, his helmet probably saved him from injuries.

"Sean!" Kyrine shouted angrily as he dropped in front of her.

Barely audible, he mumbled. "'Sar's comin' too.." Nate gave a laugh, then sighed.

"I'll get him in gear." Nate was not much more sober then Sean, but held his drunken giggles as he dragged the ginger to his AFV2 Octavian, and up the ladder to the cockpit.

Kyrine raised an eyebrow as she took in Sean and his words. "Sarah?" She nodded fitted her helmet on her head and flipped her Dead Orbit hood up, the back going down to the back of her knees. She moved to the base of the ladder near Sean's ship.

"Hey, poo poo, that tickles!" She heard Sean's nickname for Nate as he buckled Sean's in and shoved water in his face.

"This should make you a little more sober, might need some for me too." Nate huffed and started making his way down. His gloved missed a bar, and he grunted before he landed on Kyrine.

"Well. Isn't this a compromising position, Ky! What dirty thoughts are you thinking?" Nate landed on top of the Awoken girl. If only he could see Kyrine's face, he would of known just how much she wanted him off.

"Get. Off. Nathaniel." She growled, the sound muffled by her helmet. He laughed and lugged himself off her. She dusted her black pants off and growled to herself as Nate laughed and picked up his beer, and took a swig.

"I'm here." Sounded a hard-soft voice from beside the two. They were both shocked to see Sarah outfitted in her Heart of the Praxic Fire and white boots and helmet. But it wasn't the outfit that shocked the duo.

It was the beer bottle. Because, Sarah never drank. Or, at least, no one had ever seen her drink.

She walked with purpose, her helmet hanging from her left hand and bee in the other. Her boots clicked on the hard floor as she walked past them. Sarah tilted her head back and drank the rest of the alchohol, and flung it on the ground where it shattered.

She shoved her helmet on her head and tightened it, stopped and looked at the awestruck couple. "Let's go." She continued to her NS22 High Water, climbed in and they heard the purr of the engine as she gunned it.

Nate and Kyrine looked at eachother before scrambling to their own ships.

Sarah turned on Fireteam Voice Channel, and spoke to the other three. "We ready to go?"

Kyrine buzzed in, "Yupperz, let's boogie."

Nate was next. "Let's get goin'!"

It was a few seconds before Sean came on. "Mhm."

Usually, Nate called the shots, and the rest followed, but with him only midly-sober, and Sarah sober enough, they had switched.

"Combined Arms, it is." Sarah's finger ghosted over the holographic keyboard, typing in Bastion coordinates.

 _Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrp._

"Uh. Not Sorry." Nate crackled in.


	2. Two

"We're landing, Sarah," Her ghost chimed beside her as the whipped through the blue hyperspace.

There was loud gulping heard over the mic as Nate and Kyrine, the more-then-semi-sober, blinked. The flash on their helmets told them it was Sarah.

Said girl exhaled and cleared her throat. "Anyone got anymore?" Kyrine rolled her luminescent eyes and watched as the other two ships that weren't a part of their private fireteam slow, and she looked to the red-orange land below.

They all heard the bottle that broke, crackling from Sarah's mic. "We're here." She said, toneless.

Nate's laughter suddenly was heard in all of their mics. "Oh come _on._ Lighten up! We're a bit tipsy, and here to have fun! Not be complete _bitches."_ Kyrine nodded thoughtfully, then gave a little laugh.

"Sean..?" She tentatively called out, "we're landing."

His high-rough voice, affected by the booze, echoed throughout everyone's ship cabin. "Yeah, I know." He sucked in a breath and laughed. "Let us go!"

Sarah rolled her eyes and patted down so beer that had escaped onto her Praxic Fire. She really should _not_ had any alcohol. Her altitude scale in her helmet notified her, and the rest of the team, they were decreasing in altitude.

As the ships go closer and closer to the Martian sand, the orange surface skittered all around as they ship finally landed and the engines shut down, and the Guardians exited.

The blue Alpha flag whipped in the harsh winds of Mars, and the old Bastian buildings remained looming in the dark distance as the six Guardians walked towards it.

As they all got off their respective ships, they drew their weapons, and their ships materialized into the sky. The Hunters capes were flapping in the wind, and Warlock skirts and dresses were lifted. The Titans as always remained stoic.

The word _Alpha_ boomed throughout the game map, reaching corners. Nate stepped forward and took hold of the flag, naming himself leader of the Crucible Fireteam. If his mask hadn't been in place, everyone could have seen the confident smirk in place.

Sarah's back was straight, Kyrine was relaxed beside Nate, her hand cannon on her shoulder and her weight focused on her left foot, and Sean's posture was slouched.

 **Bravo!** Echoed the other side of the map, and all the team members felt their hair raise as the adrenaline rushed.

Fireworks were launched and there was the resounding boom.

And the game had begun.


	3. Three

Nate sighed as the fireworks stopped, and leaned onto the poll, "Ah, what a great night to win, isn't it?"

Sean gave a bubbly, drunken chuckle. "Totes, dude."

Sarah shaked her head and smoothed out her skirts as the rose up in the wind. "Can I kick booties now?"

Kyrine had already ran off to the left, planning to sit in a tree and remain invisible until her prey bounces along to snipe. Nate looked over to where she was trying to grasp the dead branches.

"Need help, princess?" He said cockily as Sean, Sarah, and the other two nameless Guardians sprinted for Zone C.

The Awoken jumped again, gloved fingers trying to grasp the tan branch, when she suddenly felt strong hands around her waist, lifting her upwards to scramble on the tree.

"Ummph," She grunted as she hefted herself up, the hands disappeared as she kicked to bring herself up more. "Thanks, Nate. You can go now." She waved her hand towards the popping bullet shells.

She nestled into the center of the tree and her invisible mechanism kicked in, and she disappeared.

The tall man gave a salute and said, "Don't worry 'bout it." He turned, and sprinted off towards Zone B.

Kyrine watched him go, then waited for her Icebreaker to load to its full ammo capacity. There was a throbbing in her temples and she could have sworn her helmet vision was fuzzy. "Ugga ugga." She rapped on her helmet.

Sean laughed beside Nate and lifted up his Gjallarhorn, zeroing in on the turret near Zone A. He looked through the zoom spot, though his vision was hyped, he saw the controller.

He turned a giggle in Nate's direction. "Think they see us?"

There were three guardians at Zone A. A Warlock, and two Titans. The other three must be after Sarah, Kyrine, and the other two nameless Guardians.

One Titan was manning the turret, which had taken out two Guardians, one being Sarah, and had them in the lead.

The other two Guardians had taken up Sniper positions at the bridge, waiting for someone to appear in the strip of land to take out.

Little did they know that Kyrine with her Icebreaker was waiting for just the right time to take them both out. The turret was turning, looking for targets, and the Titan's head was exposed to Ethan and Nate.

Nate shook his head. "Hit it in the balls, Seanie." He commanded, tipsy.

The redheaded hunter planted his feet and pulled the ginormous trigger and the huge bullet zoomed after it's target, and Sean flew backwards and hit the stone wall. The Glallarhorn crashed down beside him, and Nate heard an explosion, and looked up from laughing at the knocked out Sean, who's body dissolved and his ghost took his place.

Only to receive a sniper bullet to the helmet, and he could hear it as it tore through his jaw.

The impact knocked him over to lay beside Sean's ghost. "Ooh, Traveler..."

The bug bullet was off the turret, but hit the wall beside it, due to drunken state. But, it still had a devastating impact on the turret Titan and one of the guardians at the bridge. With the Titan at the turret taken down, Kyrine zeroed in on the damaged Titan from her tree.

She shifted quickly, and looked as her last ammo packet charged (which had previously been used on a curious enemy) , and shot the staggering guardian in the skull.

The helmet shattered, along with the mans skull, and Kyrine zeroed on the shocked woman warlock below him, and shot her in her chest.

The woman regained her focus, looking to the bleeding wound, winced and turned and ran away from Zone A.

The Awoken huffed and put down her sniper, her aim had been off.

"Hey, LADY!" Someone yelled from below, and she turned to look at a battered Sean.

In the Crucible, armor is badly damaged and only minorly healed, until the initial game has ended. Then it is repaired by the Guardian's ghost. Physical damages done to the Guardian will be partially healed, but still hinder the Guardian's overall performance.

Drunkenness will also down a players performance.

Obviously.

The redhead was tapping nosily on her tree, causing it to shake and Kyrine to hold on, dropping her sniper.

"S-Sean! What are you doing?! Do you want everyone and their ghosts to hear you!" She hissed as she grabbed onto a branch.

"Oh!" He whispered loudly, "I sorry, it's just that-"

There was a gunshot, and he materialized into the night sky, little glowing sparks illuminating the area.

Kyrine's head whipped around to see a glowing male Titan running towards her tree and her eyes widened as she let go of the branch and fell on top of her sniper.

Sarah was staggering around with Nate, looking for an interceptor.

"Sar'," He huffed from behind her, "Slow down...I don't like running..."

Sarah, who had been sprinting briskly for a couple minutes, barely spared the tired Hunter a look. Her skirts were flowing behind her, and her boots made light imprints on the Mars sand.

"No time to waste, Nathaniel," She grumped under her breath and trudged on.

As the wind picked up, sand blew around and made it hard to see out their helmets, but after walking for a little while longer Alyssa say the white mass of an interceptor.

"Finally!" Nate whooped into the howling wind.

The Warlock snapped back around to glare menacingly at him, "You dolt! They probably know where we are now!"

There was a burning shot that was fired, and Sarah was sliding down the stone wall next to the interceptor.

And Nate turned and fled.

Kyrine blinked as she looked up to see the enemy Titan hovering over her with his shotgun, the light from the fireworks reflecting on his helmet.

They looked at each other for a moment, each hesitating.

 _'Is he going to shoot me or not?'_

"Kyrine!" She heard her name shouted, and then a shot was fired.

She looked up to see the enemy Titan stagger back from a shot to the shoulder, while Nate rushed to her side and Kyrine hefted herself up.

Nate pointed his own shotgun at the Titan and shot him clear in the head.

He turned to look back at her.

And then fell over.

"Ah...Nate?" She questioned as she leaned over him.

"Minor wound." He mumbled and grunted.

She pressed her gloved fingers to the wound in his lower back and a grunted and snarled.

While the crucible can be for fun, it can be for pain.

Wound are very real for the Guardians that get shot and don't go down.

Kyrine frowned and examined the spot. "Grab my hand," she said, and held out her slender hand for him to grab.

He took hold of her and she helped him up, and put it over her small shoulders and started walking to the red boulders for coverage.

She jumped as she heard a gunshot from behind her, and turned.

There was no one there.

The Hunter woman narrowed her eyes as she searched, then put Nate down behind a boulder.

Pulling out her sniper, she searched the area, and was about to put the weapon back on her back when a white head popped from behind a tree and a glow from its sniper blinded her.

She ducked as the shot grazed her head.

Kyrine panted as she look back down at Nate.

"Somethin' wrong, babe?" He asked.

"Don't call me that." She pointedly said and aimed her sniper again. She raised an eyebrow as the enemy hunter hopped around, and took out the white Hunter-Jumping Bean.

Kyrine scanned the area again, and sat beside her partner.

"Turn over," She told him. He cocked his head to the side, and laid on his stomach.

She poked the bloody spot and he growled from his spot on the ground.

"Shh. I'm going to try to get it out." She patted his head.

"That. Will hurt." He said.

" _Obviously_ , baby."


	4. Four

Sean, being the drunkest of the crew, stumbled around and sat down.

"Why don't they take me seriously, huh?!" He yelled at a rock.

 _'Well. I don't know bud.'_

 _"_ Well of course you don't. Your a rock." He threw his hands up. " _Duh_."

"Sean! What the hell are you doing?!" A shill voice sounded behind him.

"Talking to my rock." He said, shrugging.

Sarah huffed and dragged him behind a wall. "In the middle of the center point?!"

"He's my therapist."

Sarah snarled, then froze as she heard a scuffle. "Shh, Sean."

She readied her hand cannon and leaned against the wall.

Her steps were light and barely made any sounds as she whipped around the corner and shot all of her rounds into the enemy female warlock.

The enemy shrieked and fell to the stone, and her red ghost hovered over her body.

Sarah took a deep breath and looked to Sean, who was drawing figures in the sand.

"Come on. If they heard that, they'll be coming." She grabbed him by his hood and dragged him along with her, and he giggled as she grunted by his weight.

"Ah! Rine! That fucking _hurts_!" Nate yelled before Kyrine hit his helmet.

"I'm trying to get it out, you vulgar buttcheek."

She was attempting to extract the bullet from his lower back, and Nate was making it unsuccessful because of his wiggling around and groaning.

As painful as it sounded, Kyrine was using a small pocket knife to get the bullet out.

Once you get the bullet out from the Guardian, their health and stamina go back up, and they can maneuver easily again. Until then, the more bullets they have in their system, the more hindered they are until the bullets are extracted.

She poked the metal and her partner hissed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

She slid the blade past the bullet and cocked it sideways to get under it.

"Go _easy_ , princess!"

"I'm almost there, hold on.." Kyrine cocked the blade up, and the bullet moved upward.

She took a piece of her black cape to clean the spurts dark blood.

Then she took a metal rod from her belt, putting the locker blade back, and gently wiggling the rod under the bullet and bringing it up and flinging it into the orange sand.

"There," she said, smiling. "All better." Kyrine watched as his skin healed and his armor reset to its original state.

Nate breathed a sigh of relief as his wound healed and sat up. "Thanks." He stood up and grabbed Kyrine's hand, pulling her to him.

"Let's get going, I think Sar' may need help with Sean." Kyrine mumbled, and detached herself from his chest.

He pulled her back and hugged her against him, and she wiggled. "Leggo Nate,"

Nate let her go, and smiled. "Let's get going then, slow poke." Kyrine smacked his helmet, giggling.

They made their way back around the bend, a route to Zone A, Kyrine shooting a female Titan at the turret.

Sean, get your ass _up_! You intergalactic donkey!"

Kyrine and Nate looked at each other as they heard Sean rounding the corner, dragging Sean, who was kicked up sand, behind her.

" **But** , my rock..."

"No one cares about your damn rock!"

Nate sprinted over to them, "Hey! We gotta get some points, the other team is ahead of us and we haven't done shit!"

"Uh uh, no. Language, Nathaniel." Kyrine shushed him, coming to a stop next to him.

"Whatever. Point is," He threw an arm up towards to now occupants turrent "we need to get our heads in the game, and out of the beer bottle." He have a pointed look at Sean.

"I'm going to head back and watch Zone C. Sarah can go with me...Sean, and Nate.." She paused, and shook her head. "I'll take Nate. Me and Sarah are the less drunk of all of us. Sarah, you can take Sean. "

Even if the Awoken Hunter couldn't see her friends expression, she knew she'd managed to make Sarah angry.

"Rocky! My love!"  
_

"So," Nate smirked. "Did you really want me so bad that you put Sean and Sari' together?"

Kyrine snorted, looking through her sniper to the enemy Guardian who controlled the turret. "You. Wish."

"My wishes come true," He said back cockily and aimed his gun.

"Uh huh..." She zoomed in, "suuuuure." And shot, knocking the enemy in the head and the others around him going into a frenzy.

"I'm very sure, princess." He shot down one of the two remaining enemies.

"Whatever, Nathaniel." She fired at the remaining one, and shot it him the leg.

Nate finished by shooting the male warlock again.

"You are welcome." He said, putting the sniper back on his back.

"No thank you." She readied her shotgun next, and hopped over the rock.

"Fine then," he huffed. "Be the bitch."

"My best talent." She said, then sprinted over to Zone C and under the fallen stone.

Nate skidded next to her, silent and listened for footsteps.

Kyrine pressed a button on her helmet and spoke into the group mic, "We got it."

Sarah heard Kyrine's voice and replied, "Gotcha."

"My heaaaaaaad..." Sean moaned from beside her.

"I'm sorry, I can't do much." She sweetly. "Next time don't insist on going into the Crucible drunk."

"Never drink again, Sarah, promise me. Your to abrasive when you get liquor in your system." He mumbled and pulled out his scout rifle.

"Shut up and let's get moving." She said and crouched down, moving in.

" _Sarah. I hope you know your mic is still on..."_ Kyrine's voice echoed through her helmet.

"Oh!" She tapped the group mic button.

"There's a warlock over there," Sarah said as the advanced from the left side of the flag. He pointed to the opponent with a sniper on the bridge. "I'll get him."

He whipped out his blue sniper and aimed at the mans head, then shot.

Without a sound, the man slid down, and his ghost appeared.

Sarah took her heavy weapon out, and aimed for the two Guardians at the turrets that hadn't noticed her yet while Sean started to capture the flag.

She used both of her small hands to lift the heavy weapon, and positioned it on the turret, then fired.

Kyrine lifted her head as she heard the big boom. "Guess that's our cue. They'll resplendent in a minute and head back here...so you stay here and I'll meet Sean at Zone B. We only need a few more points before we win."

"So do they, princess." Nate mumbled.

The smile was wiped off her face and she slouched. "Ruining my optimism I see."

"My best talent," He mocked her.

"Whatever, Nate. Guard this zone, I'll be back in a minute." She said and sprinted off.

Nate raised an eyebrow as he watched her butt. "Mhmm. Gotcha."

"Rine?" Sarah whispered.

"Right here," Kyrine said as she crouched beside her friend. "I just took out one near the entrance. If we get this flag we're golden."

She nodded, and they ran to the flag, and then heard a gunshot.

"Ah!" Kyrine yelled and fell to the hard floor, holding her knee.

Sarah turned to see a Titan with a hand cannon, now pointed at her.

Another gunshot was heard, and the massive Titan dropped, holding his shoulder, and Kyrine had her own gun pointed at him, one hand on her bleeding knee.

"Finish it, Sar'!" Kyrine snapped, and shot at the Titan twice.

Sarah blinked out of her shock and skidded into the zone circle, slowly gaining it as Kyrine drug herself over.

"There's two more I just saw. They'll be here in a few." She muttered almost silently.

Sarah already rapidly beating heart escalated.

They were at 60% when the other enemy Guardians appeared. Kyrine pressed her mic button, "Nate. Come on, we need you."

She then fired from her position on the ground, killing one of the three enemies, while Sarah was hit and pushed out of the circle, slowing the capture of the flag.

Other enemies appeared, as Kyrine was killed and the capture froze, then the flag stood unclaimed.

Nate arrived and put up a purple shield, pulling Sarah in as the other two nameless Guardians slid in.

"Where's Kyrine?" Nate turned back towards a injured Sarah.

She snorted as she pulled out the bullet that was shallowly lodged into her arm. "I don't know. She got wiped."

Sean arrived into the bubble, and stood beside Nate. "Guessing Riney was KOed?" Nate nodded.

"The shield is getting ready to go down, if we had Kyrine here we could capture the flag easier." Sarah mumbled.

As she shield flickered, Sean, Nate, Sarah and the other two Guardians readied their weapons.

Kyrine stretched her legs as she respawned near Zone B, and checked the standings.

Bravo was in the lead, but only by 200 points. Meaning if Alpha could capture Zone A, _we would win,_ Kyrine thought to herself.

She tightened the buckles on her boots, then took off into a sprint.

The purple shield went down, and the Alpha team jumped into the air as shots whizzed past their feet.

Sarah landed, taking out two Guardians with her nova bomb.

She turned to see Kyrine enter from behind the enemies, and took out two other Guardians.

"Kyrine, get to the flag!" Nate yelled before he was shot in the stomach.

Her head spun as she stumbled over to the flag and grasped the pole.

 ** _Alpha, wins!_**


	5. Five

"I am never doing that. Again." Sean huffed as they returned to the Tower.

"Me neither man, my heads pounding!" Nate exclaimed beside him.

Sarah was hunched over beside Kyrine, and said in her small voice, "I hate the Crucible."

Kyrine took her helmet off, letting her platinum blonde hair spill out. "The Crucible? Or alcohol?"

Sarah held her head in her hands, he fingers grasping her dirty blonde curls. "Both."

They transported themselves to the main city, talking along the way.

"Well here's where I go. See you all tomorrow. I'll call you," Sean said, waving as he walked into his apartment.

"Better get packin, Ewee," Nate used his nickname for him friend, who in turn glared at him. "They requiring all Guardians move into the tower."

Sean raised a ginger eyebrow. "Really."

Nate nodded and waved as Sarah and Kyrine started walking again. "Call you later."

"Kyrine, are you packed?" Sarah mumbled to her friend.

"Ah...no. I'm not. Had a lot of things on my mind." She said back, looking down the road.

"I am!" Sarah smiled. "Can't wait to get away from the family."

Nate came up beside her and nodded. "Me too. Ariyana's been killing me."

Kyrine shoved his shoulder. "Your sister is adorable."

"Yeah," He snorted. "you think that."

"I'll see you twp later," Alyssa gave Kyrine hug and walked to her house. The Awoken waved to her as she disappeared indoors.

"So, Rine, where you live? In all the years I've known you I've never seen your place." Nate leaned in.

Her eyebrows raised. "It's not very important."

He bumped her. "I think it is."

"Well it's not." Her voice was curt. "Anyway," She switched the subject. "How do you feel about moving into the Tower?"

He sighed, and accepted the change of subject. "It's in the back of my mind. I guess I'll miss my family."

Nate looked down on his short friend. "How about you?"

"It'll be a nice change. I don't have a family like you do, so I can't say I'll miss my place." She said, and stopped. "We're at your house."

Nate came to a halt. "Yeah...I'll text you in the morning, Kyrine." He looked intently at her.

She finally met his eyes. "Okey dokey, bye Natie-poo. Have a nice night." She smirked as he scowled and hugged him.

Nate immediately stopped walking. "Will do." He mumbled, barely audible, and continued to his house.

She narrowed her eyes, then flipped her helm in the air and caught it with gloved fingers. "Hm."

Then she sighed, and continued walking down the cracked roads of the Last City.

 **NOTE: This little story came BEFORE WAWB/TTK, and is also one of my first stories. Thank you for reading and sharing, it means a lot.**


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